The daughter she never knew she wanted
by emshi21
Summary: One-shot series about the relationship between Mrs Hughes and Anna. Will probably involve some mild E/C.
1. Chapter 1

**This is the first of (hopefully) many one-shots involving the relationship between Anna and Mrs Hughes, with some Carson/Hughes thrown in at some point probably!**

Walking at a swift and businesslike pace the Butler and Housekeeper of Downton Abbey were engaged in a somewhat lively discussion about the former's devotion to the house, in particular it's eldest daughter. Approaching the kitchen Mr Carson turned to Mrs Hughes with a slight smirk and remarked

'We can't all be as professional and unfeeling as yourself, you know'.

This earned him a mock glare and slight shove, but just as Mrs Hughes opened her mouth in reply a slight sob rang out. Both turned instantly towards the pantry, years of service having trained their ears to direct them towards any sound of trouble. Mrs Hughes set off at a determined pace, mulling over in her mind the recent recruits who might be in need of some reassurance that they were doing the right thing and that O'Brien was like that with everyone. Mr Carson followed, slightly more warily, not being particularly skilled with dealing with young, crying girls. Unless, of course, he thought to himself, it was the Lady Mary. Perhaps Elsie was right, he was a little over attached.

They reached the door almost together, but the sight that greeted them was not, as they believed, a young scullery maid hiding from the watchful eyes of the cook. Instead, young Anna, a new maid of about 11 or 12 was kneeling down beside a slightly scruffy, red-haired village girl of about 7. The little girl was whimpering slightly as Anna gently mopped up the blood from her knees that she had presumably gained in a fall. She was also quietly chattering to the girl, occasionally managing a giggle from amidst the tears.

Elsie smiled at the sight. She had taken an instant liking to the young maid and here it seemed she had been proved right: the girl was kind, gentle and obviously a born mother, as well as being sensible enough to clean up the girl inside the house. Mr Carson reacted a little differently.

'And just what do you think you are doing, Anna? Who gave you permission to bring someone into the house, and use household medical supplies on them?'

Anna, who had jumped quite remarkably when he had first spoken, obviously not realising that they were there, blushed bright scarlet. However, before Mrs Hughes could open her mouth to rebuke him for his unkind behaviour, she spoke, with as much confidence as she could muster

'I beg your pardon, Mr Carson, but little Gwen was quite severely hurt when she fell. As you can see, I am having to wash and bandage her knee, but I think she may have broken her arm. Not to worry though' she added hastily, seeing their panicked expressions, 'I've made a rudimentary sling'. With that she turned the girl slightly, so that they could see young Gwen's well bandaged arm and terrified expression. 'I am sorry that I did it without permission, but I thought it best to act quickly'.

Mrs Hughes turned to Mr Carson to see him quite lost for words. Taking it upon herself to act, she turned to the young girl and, smiling, said

'You did well, my girl. I'll get Mrs Patmore to drop her off back home, she knows the Dawsons quite well'. And with that, she half dragged the still stunned Mr Carson out of the room to her sitting room. Once inside, he turned to her and said, still utterly shocked

'Did you know she could do that?'

Laughing, Mrs Hughes shook her head and said

'Not at all, but I'm awfully glad that we hired her, she seems to have her head screwed on the right way! I thought she looked sensible'.

At this, he looked at her, with barely concealed glee, and asked

'What was that you said about having favourites?'

Mrs Hughes just smiled, turning to her ledgers, retorting without looking at him

'At least mine can make a little girl stop crying'.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews, I never realised how happy they could make you! This shot is a little longer than the first.**

Mr Carson was beginning to reach the end of his morning announcements. Just as well, thought Mrs Hughes, since she could tell that most of the staff had already drifted off. Miss O'Brien and Thomas appeared to be engaged in a 'who can look the most disgusted' contest and she was fairly certain that the head housemaid Lucy had fallen asleep. Bringing herself back to consciousness, she listened to the end of his speech.

' …so please do remember that the guest rooms are for GUESTS, not idle employees. Oh and finally' he said, almost as an afterthought, 'as Christmas has just passed us, please remember that it is the Servants Ball in a week's time. This is NOT' he continued, as the table suddenly brightened and an excited muttering spread around it, 'an excuse to neglect your duties, nor is it an excuse to behave less than absolutely subservient to the family.' With that, he left the room to begin the days work.

The others followed him, much less enthusiastically, she noted with a wry smile. However, she found her eye being drawn to young Anna. The young woman had been with them for almost a year now, and it was the first time Elsie could remember seeing her without a smile on her face. In fact, she looked distinctly worried and upset. Before she could say anything, she left the room, fiddling with her uniform with a look of distress. Deciding to leave it for the time being, Elsie nonetheless made a secret resolve to watch the young girl.

Anna's demeanour remained troubled for the rest of that day, and indeed for the next few days that followed. If anything, the girl seemed to be getting more worried as time went on. Elsie decided that enough was enough when she saw Anna quietly mopping up tears after a ridiculing from O'Brien and Thomas that normally the girl would have just brushed off. She told Thomas to send the girl to her sitting room that evening, after threatening to box his ears if he tried to make her upset again, though she doubted that it would do any good.

After what seemed like an age of attempting to focus on her ledgers she heard a timid little knock. It was so quiet that had she not been straining her ears for it she would have missed it. She rose to her feet and opened the door with as loving a smile as she could manage. Anna looked simply terrified, almost quaking as she opened the door. Taking an audible gulp, she said

'Thomas said that you… you wanted to see me'.

Mrs Hughes smiled wider, realising in hindsight how he had probably phrased it, and, reassuring her that she was not in any trouble, invited her in. Sitting on a spare chair the girl looked smaller and more fragile than before, despite no longer seeming to fear for her life. Mrs Hughes settled down opposite her, and then kindly said

'Whatever is the matter with you, my dear girl? You've never looked so miserable.' A little direct perhaps, but she could not see the point in making small talk and getting the girl in a real panic.

'I'm fine, Mrs Hughes. Perhaps I'm just a little tired, that's all.' Elsie was distinctly unsatisfied by this response, which Anna seemed to sense, judging by the unnaturally bright grin she was now displaying. Elsie merely raised her eyebrows, prompting the girl to start studying her lap, until, hesitantly, she said

'It's just…. The Ball'.

This puzzled Elsie, ordinarily it was the young footmen who were nervous about the ball, about asking the young girls to dance and the possible rejections that they might face. Well, all but one footman, she mused, who never seemed too bothered about what any of the young women thought. Sensing her confusion, Anna continued

'It's ridiculous I know, but… I've never been taught how to….. dance'. The last word was spoken so quietly that Elsie could hear the shame that this brought with it.

'Why would that matter my dear?' After all, she thought, chuckling to herself, most of the staff moved like wooden Indians, not to mention Lord Grantham's pitiful attempts. The number of times she had had her foot trodden on. Anna seemed utterly confused by the question, although she did already seem happier.

'So….. so you wont fire me? Even though I'll make a fool of myself?'

'Fire you? What on earth are you talking about my dear child?' asked Elsie, now concerned, and completely lost. Then it dawned on her

'Did Miss O'Brien tell you this?' The young girl looked surprised, then nodded

'She said that if the housemaids were inelegant then they made the family look bad and so they had to be replaced'.

Elsie felt a huge combination of emotions. How dare Sarah O'Brien torment her young charge? Even though she knew that in reality she knew that it was a ridiculous story, hardly the type of thing that Anna would normally believe, the fact that it involved dismissal would have made it very scary for a young woman, and O'Brien was a very convincing liar. Still, this was above and beyond her normal behaviour. Or, said an internal voice that sounded an awful lot like Charles, did it just seem worse because it involved her little maid? Looking back at the girl, she smiled and said

'Not to worry, my dear, in that case half the staff would be on the streets!' She spoke in a similar tone of voice to how she had heard Anna talk to young Gwen, and the shy giggle that it earned her was also very reminiscent of the scene.

'May I ask though, why is dismissal such a huge worry for you? I mean, it is a big concern for anyone, but it seems to honestly terrify you, and you are quite employable, you know. You would easily find other work.'

Anna's expression reverted to how it had been the past few days. Eventually she said

'My family needs all the money we can get. I have 5 younger siblings, who all need feeding, and my father struggles to find work because of his limp'. At the older woman's confused expression she added 'he fought in the Boer War. It would take me a while to find another job, in which case my family would have no money at all'.

Elsie looked at the girl with pity. It was such a large weight for such little shoulders. Although she was not one for signs of affection, she gently patted the girl's knee, earning her a small smile. Then Elsie suddenly grinned and said

'I know what will cheer you up!' And with great energy she led the bemused girl to the now deserted servant's hall, and moved the large table to give them some space. Turning to the girl with an uncharacteristic grin, she said

'Well my dear? Don't you want to learn how to dance?'

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Charles Carson walked briskly through the servant's quarters. He had looked for Elsie, but her sitting room was empty and, surprisingly, open, which worried him slightly. She was a private woman and it was highly irregular for her to leave the door open. Turning a corner to the servant's hall, he stopped abruptly. Counting aloud, Elsie was leading a slightly wooden Anna in a Waltz. Both women seemed to be concentrating hard on their feet, Anna presumably so as not to get anything wrong, and he assumed that the normally natural dancer that was Elsie was struggling to do everything from the man's perspective. However, both women were beaming, and laughing when their legs occasionally collided or hit the side of the table. After a while, he coughed to alert them of their presence. Anna immediately went bright red and looked terrified, but Elsie laughed, looking more beautiful than ever. Smiling, he approached the maid and, bowing low, said

'Miss Smith, may I have the pleasure of this dance?'

The girl giggled and nodded, and he proceeded to lead her in the same waltz. Elsie watched approvingly, continuing to count, the girl had learnt well, she was already better than Lord Grantham, not that this was saying much. This scene continued for a while, until looking at the clock, she sent the now yawning but altogether much chirpier Anna to bed. They watched her go, and Mr Carson then turned to face the housekeeper, with his mouth open as if to ask a question. Before he could, Elsie jumped in with

'Don't ask. Just remind me to have a word with Miss O'Brien in the morning.'

Charles smiled down at her and said

'As you wish. But actually, I was just going to ask you to dance'.

In her surprise, Elsie laughed, but nodded. And gently, Charles led her around the room, never once stepping on her feet.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry this is so late/bit longer than the others. I realise this is a few days early, and that Mother's day probably wasn't around at this point, but I wanted to write this!**

Elsie hated Mothering Sunday. Every year the same church service where the vicar spoke about the Virgin Mary, and the exemplar mother's in the audience (or, sorry, congregation of course) and how they were what all women should aspire to be like. Then the entire contingent trooped back to the house where, whilst the young ladies presented slightly lopsided handmade gifts to their mother, the kitchen prepared them a sumptuous meal. Many of the servants then returned home if they could, she knew that Lucy had been spending a lot of time at home lately, so she would probably be one. Meanwhile, she was left at the house, continuing about her daily jobs with a growing sense of inadequacy and loneliness for not having anyone to spend the day with.

Already feeling despondent, she decided that perhaps actually getting out of bed would be a good idea. As she was getting dressed she couldn't help noticing the lines on her face, the grey hairs, and the other signs of ageing that always seemed particularly prominent on this day. Elsie had never wanted a child when she was young, but in recent years she craved the relationship that Lady Cora had with, well, Lady Sybil, if nothing else. However, she was not one to wallow in self pity, so, smiling at herself in the mirror for courage, she left the room.

At breakfast she listened idly to the chatter, not taking an awful lot it. As she had expected, Lucy was taking the afternoon off, as, surprisingly, were Thomas and O'Brien. She knew that O'Brien would be visiting her sister, but it came as a great shock that the guarded Thomas had a family to whom he was close enough to wish to visit them on Mothering Sunday. In fact, it seemed that most of the staff was leaving. Mrs Hughes was in a complete quandary over this; it was not that important a celebration was it? But then it dawned on her that, as they were unable to return home for Christmas or Easter, this was the closest they could get to a 'family holiday'. Because of this, she allowed the mass exodus of staff, since most of the work would be done by then.

She noticed, despite this, that after lunch, when most of the staff were leaving, clutching daffodils and the like for their mothers or sisters, young Anna was not. In the end, it appeared that, give or take a few kitchen maids and hall boys, she, Anna and Carson were the only staff remaining. He immediately went on a silver polishing rampage, muttering all the way about how it was 'completely unacceptable' and how they were going to be 'swamped'. This amused Elsie greatly, as the family were out in the grounds, there was little to do, and they quite simply did not need large numbers of staff. Smiling to herself, she left for her sitting room to focus on the ledgers.

As expected, she was struggling to concentrate, her head filled with 'what ifs' and other fantasies. Deciding that she needed a cup of tea, she headed towards the servant's hall to see if she could find anyone to sit with. Entering it, she saw young Anna, complete with some form of sewing. She seemed equally distracted, the needle was not even in her hand and she seemed to be staring intently at the wall for answers. Feeling a little confused as to why Anna was not at home, she lived relatively locally from what Elsie could recall, she took the seat next to her.

Instantly Anna jumped, evidently unaware of her presence previously, and attempted a smile.

'What are you sewing for?' asked Mrs Hughes.

Anna smiled a little more at that and replied

'Lucy says that if I help her out with the tricky bits she'll buy me something nice from the market when it is in.' That made Elsie laugh, it was true that Lucy was a hopeless sewer, despite her efforts, and she could see that Anna, whilst not perfect, was a marked improvement.

'That sounds about right.' She paused, unsure as to how to ask the girl, but in the end, opting for her traditionally direct route, asked

'Why did you decide to stay here today? Do you not miss your family?'

To her surprise, the girl's eyes filled with tears. Obviously embarrassed, she quickly apologised and made a poor excuse as to why she needed to leave, hurrying quickly out of the door. Carson entered through the same door, with a concerned look on his face.

'Is she alright Mrs Hughes? She appeared as if she was about to cry.'

Mrs Hughes sighed and said

'I believe she already was, and I think I caused it.' Seeing his questioning gaze, she eventually said 'I asked her why she had not gone to visit her family.' Mr Carson frowned, out of puzzlement rather than anger, and said

'Has something happened at home?'

Feeling completely confused and incredibly guilty, she shrugged, and added

'I have no idea.' The fact that this was true made the guilt worse, she should know for God's sake! Standing with a new found resolve, probably due to the anger she felt at herself, she turned to him and asked

'Do you know where she went?' She knew Anna was fond of the grounds; it was possible she had gone for a walk.

'I believe she was headed to the women's quarters'. Her bedroom, thought Elsie: that was a bad sign. Servants did not retreat to their bedrooms unless they had to change or they were utterly miserable. Nodding sadly, she went in the same direction.

Standing at the door, Elsie could hear a whimpering coming from inside the room. Well, whimpering was perhaps the wrong word, it was stronger than that, not as high pitched but more powerful. Gathering her courage to knock, it suddenly dawned on her that if she did, the girl would put on the same fake happy face as she had tried to downstairs. What Elsie needed was to see what she was actually feeling, not what Anna wanted her to see. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

What she saw shocked her deeply. Anna was lying curled up on the floor, her body wrecked with sobs, completely oblivious to her surroundings. She was shaking with the effort and Elsie's heart was breaking at the sight of it. Instinctively, she went over to the girl and put her arms around her, lifting her up so that she was almost in her lap. It was a measure of what a state she was in that the girl neither seemed shocked nor cared, and allowed herself to be rocked and comforted. Elsie gently whispered to her, kissing her on the head and holding her tightly, willing herself to be strong enough not to join the girl, although her obvious distress was making her feel awful.

After what felt like hours, Anna began to quieten and the shaking subsided a little. Elsie loosened her grip slightly, and allowed the girl to look up at her. She seemed utterly distraught, not to mention immensely embarrassed. She smiled as reassuringly as she could at the girl, trying to at least relieve her shame if nothing else.

'Will you tell me?' Elsie asked simply. Seeing the girl's reluctant expression, she added 'Please?'

Anna took a deep breath and said, still breathing quite deeply, 'my mother… she's….dead'. With that, she collapsed again. Elsie continued to hold her, feeling great pity for the young woman. After a little while she managed to coax out of the girl that there was a maiden aunt, although matron would probably be the more operative word, who was looking after the other Smith children whilst her father searched for any work he could find. She also found out that it had happened three weeks ago. _Three weeks! _How the girl had managed to keep going as if nothing was wrong was beyond her.

'It was consumption' whispered Anna after a while. Elsie was surprised, she hadn't heard of anyone dying of consumption for a few years now, but she supposed that from what she knew of the girl's family, they didn't have much money and the disease was rampant amongst the impoverished. She smiled sadly at the girl, brushing her hair out of her eyes, and asked

'Why didn't you tell me?'

Anna looked down, embarrassed once more, and said

'I didn't want to bother anyone'.

Elsie, feeling even guiltier, replied

'Oh my girl, you could never be a bother'. With that she released her hold slightly, adding, 'perhaps it would be best from you to have a nap now. I'll bring you up some food later.' The girl nodded with a wan smile and tottered towards her bed, falling asleep almost the second her head hit the pillow, tired out by grief. Satisfied the girl was no longer awake, Elsie quietly left the room.

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The next morning Elsie woke up reluctantly, feeling the pressure of the work she had not done yesterday weighing on her mind. After dinner she and Charles, most surprisingly, had taken the girl out in the grounds for a walk to clear her head a little, seeing as the rest of the staff did not get back until late. The occasional laughs that they had managed to get out of her had felt like more of an achievement that any linen arrangement would have done. Still, she knew that she would eventually have to do her job, greatly though it annoyed her. This job would be perfect, she thought, if I didn't actually have to do anything, or at least no paperwork. She was pleased that Charles had taken a liking to her 'favourite' as he called her, and when she had had to leave to attend to Lady Grantham briefly, she had returned to see them grinning mischievously at each other like they knew some great secret, and when she asked them what was going on, both fell into giggles. Smiling to herself, she opened her bedroom door to leave.

There, just outside her bedroom, was a bunch of beautiful daffodils, tied together with what looked like a hair ribbon and with a note attached. It read

'_Dear Mrs Hughes_

_Happy Mother's Day_

_Love from Anna_

_P.S. Don't worry, Mr Carson said I was allowed to pick these flowers. He also said that they were one of your favourites._

Elsie smiled, trying desperately not to cry. It was going to be a wonderful After-Mothering-Sunday-Monday.


	4. Chapter 4

**This one is also a little longer, sorry!**

Mrs Hughes walked steadily back down the stairs to the servants quarters. She had just spent almost an hour coaxing young Lady Sybil out of the garden, where she had been protesting the right of the snails and slugs to eat the plants and generally disturbing the gardeners, and into bed, and she was exhausted. How a seven year old could debate so effectively she would never know, although it didn't help that the new Nanny was so useless. It hadn't surprised her to see that Miss Brown had also decided to leave her the task of persuading Lady Mary to apologise to Lady Edith for calling her stupid and to get the younger girl's hand out of her elder sibling's hair. In retrospect, perhaps Sybil was the easiest to deal with; at least she hadn't tried to bite her. Walking past the Servants' Hall, she caught the end of Thomas' sentence

'… and anyway, why is it our job to put up with the old bird's temper?'

Elsie stopped, hiding behind the door frame. She knew that it probably wasn't a good idea for her to listen to this, but she couldn't help herself.

'They don't call her the Scottish Dragon for nothing' said the First Footman George, and although it was now clear exactly who they were talking about, she didn't mind too much since George seemed to regard this term as a mark of respect. If anything, she liked the idea of being a dragon. Then O'Brien through her hat in the ring,

'She never used to be this bad though, did she? Not surprising though, is it, when you consider she's got nobody left. I'd be moody as hell if I was universally despised.' Elsie almost laughed at the irony of the statement, although the words 'universally despised' did sting a little. O'Brien, cheered on by the same chuckles and giggles that brought down Elsie's mood even more, continued.

'I suppose it hurts even more to be desperately in love with a man who's in love with a pile of bricks and a family of idiots'. That really hurt, thought Elsie, mostly because, brutal though it was, it was pretty accurate as well.

'Well she's missed her chance now, hasn't she?' added Thomas, laughing, 'who'd want to marry an old woman?'

'I'd say it would be her bedside manner, not the age that would be the problem. Not exactly what you'd call loving, is she?' Elsie almost gasped out loud. Lucy. Admittedly, she did occasionally lose her temper with her clumsiness and scatty nature, but she had always thought that they had got on quite well, despite their differences. It was made worse by the hoots of laughter that rang around the room, complete with several bad attempts at Scottish accents talking about subjects that made Elsie blush bright red. She could not see how some of these maids could feel comfortable talking about such intimate things! Suddenly, amidst the chaos of awful Mrs-Hughes-the-Newlywed impressions a little voice rang out.

'Just stop it, all of you! How could you all be so horrible about Mrs Hughes, talking like that about her?!' Elsie's heart both rose and fell at the same time. Whilst she was immensely grateful to hear little Anna standing up for her, she couldn't help but think the young lady was going to regret it, especially when she heard the laughter grow louder.

'Oh keep quiet you, nobody cares about your opinion' said Miss O'Brien in a way that sounded like she was still laughing

'Just because you're in Mrs Hughes' back pocket all the time, hanging on to her every word' said Thomas sneering, before breaking into an extremely high pitched impression of Anna trailing around behind the housekeeper, complete with little barks and the other's shouting, in Scottish accents again, orders such as

'Roll over Anna! There's a good little dog' and 'Come here Anna! Walkies!' Elsie, beginning to wonder how much more she could take, peered through the crack in the door to see Thomas performing a dog impression to the delight of most of the rest of the room. Anna she saw was standing up, and although bright red in the face, managed to add

'You're just jealous because Mrs Hughes is more respected and more liked than you'll ever be!' Of course, this just prompted more mocking from the others, but Elsie appreciated the gesture, pointless though it was. She felt a lump rise in her throat seeing what this girl was willing to go through for her sake. As the mocking grew louder, Elsie began to steel herself to go through the door. Although it would rather ruin her plans of secret revenge for the next few weeks, involving particularly horrible work and perhaps an open confrontation to make them squirm, she could not leave Anna on her own taking all the ridicule. Just before she did though, she noticed moving from the other side of the room, and she realised that, unknown to the others, Mr Carson had entered through the other door. How much he had heard became evident from the bellowing shout that echoed around the room.

'Stop this atrocious behaviour THIS INSTANT!' The room grew deathly quiet as the servants turned to face him, wearing looks that varied from embarrassment (Lucy), feigned indifference (Thomas and O'Brien) and relief (Anna).

'Mrs Hughes does not deserve such horrific abuse! How dare you insult someone who works so hard to make your lives more manageable and enjoyable? And do NOT' he added quickly, seeing Thomas open his mouth to speak 'tell me that that is untrue: you all know that she would die for any of you if she had to, attacking her when she has done no wrong and is unable to defend herself is pure cowardice and utterly disreputable behaviour.'

Seeing the shame begin to appear on more faces, he continued. 'It is also completely unacceptable to attack Anna for being the only one of you loyal and brave enough to stand up for Mrs Hughes, particularly those of you so much older than her'. At this he eyeballed O'Brien, who, from where she was peering through, Elsie could see had the sense to at least pretend to be ashamed.

'You will all now return to your rooms. Tomorrow morning, I expect you all to be perfectly courteous and polite to both your victims, and if you are not, I will give you even more additional chores than I already intend to give you'. Under his watchful gaze, the servants all trooped dutifully out, mollified and not speaking a word to the others. Ducking into the shadows before they could see her, she saw Lucy walking out; head bowed in shame, and decided not to be too hard on the girl, although she certainly would not be doing the girl's mending for her this week. O'Brien and Thomas looked much the same as normal, though Thomas seemed to be walking with a little less of an arrogant strut and O'Brien was, for once, silent. Anna looked surprisingly content, presumably she had already worked out that Mr Carson would destroy anyone who so much as looked at her the wrong way the following day, so she really had nothing to worry about. Elsie smiled, trying to think of a way to show her appreciation to the girl without letting her know she overheard the conversation. Deep in her own thoughts, she was interrupted by the sound of Mr Carson quietly saying her name. She turned to the door to see him watching her sadly. Before she could speak, he said

'I know you heard the whole thing. I saw you through the crack'. Knowing it would be pointless to argue, she nodded, surprising herself with tears that sprung to her eyes before she managed to stop them. Despite what she had been telling herself, the words of her charges had wounded her deeply, and she was not as calm as she was trying to make herself. It did not help that she had a horrible feeling Charles had heard the whole thing too, including the mentions of himself. Charles looked at her with eyes full of sorrow and affection, gently grasping her arm. Surprised by the show of affection she laughed a little, wiping her eyes and muttering something about how foolish she was. He smiled at that and said

'I think the only fools in this part of the house have just been sent to bed'. She smiled, trying to take comfort in his words.

'You were right about Anna though' he added. When she looked at him slightly confused, he explained 'it seems she is the only one with her head screwed on.' Laughing properly then at this accurate description of her young charge, not to mention the unusual change in his language, she looked properly at him, and asked

'How could you see me through that crack in the door?' This time it was his turn to laugh, a low chuckle, as he replied

'Mrs Hughes, do you honestly think that it is possible for me to not notice you?'

Suddenly Elsie did not mind how much of the conversation Charles had heard. Indeed, the whole thing was replaced in her mind with much more enjoyable thoughts, and as they parted with gentle farewells, she wondered how true Miss O'Brien's remark had been after all.


	5. Chapter 5

**In response to JS's request for Lady Mary to be included!**

Elsie could not quite believe it. She could barely move for flowers, presents, food, footmen, maids, more food: she was honestly struggling to find a space to stand. Lady Mary was turning thirteen, and honestly, you would think that she had just been crowned Queen. Downton had been transformed from a wealthy manor house with of a minority of upper class people and a majority of slightly stressed servants to a wealthy manor house full of an increasing number of upper class idiots as the celebration grew closer and a servant body that were just about ready to strangle each other, not to mention the next member of the Crawley household that said 'I just think that the _red _roses would look better there'. Or maybe that was just her.

Still, she thought, nearly there, in about half an hour the guests that were not staying the night would begin to arrive and all female staff and any male staff who didn't own a livery would be ushered, gratefully, out of sight. She didn't have a lot more to do now, she was just overseeing proceedings with a sharp eye in order to avert any disasters (about the colour of the jelly, at the last big birthday, she seemed to remember) before the family discovered them. God she hated aristocracy. Not that she would let Mr Carson know that of course, and in all honesty she was no revolutionary. She just did not understand why they could get so upset about such little things. Whilst this thought ran through her head, she noticed Lady Grantham rushing toward her, looking utterly panicked. Whatever now, she thought, presents wrapped with dark blue instead of purple paper?

'Mrs Hughes, have you seen Mary?'

Well now, thought Elsie, this may actually be a problem.

'No milady, I haven't. Where have you looked?' However, she could tell that Lady Grantham had stopped listening the second she told her she did not know where Mary was, judging by the increasingly frantic expression and the fact that she was now wringing her hands and hopping around, in the most lady-like fashion, of course.

'Don't worry, milady, I'll find her.'

The other woman looked relieved, and after a grateful and rushed thanks she hurried off to great the Earl of Something-bury and his latest mistress. Sighing, Elsie resigned herself to dealing with whatever Lady Mary could throw at her.

Xxxxxxxxx

Approaching Lady Mary's room, Elsie heard a rapid whispered conversation that fluctuated in pitch so much she was sure at least one participant was also in floods of tears. Quietly, she pushed the door a little ajar. Curled on her four poster bed was Lady Mary, drenching the mattress in tears. What really surprised her was the fact that holding her and whispering as much comfort as she could to the younger girl was Anna. She noticed the housekeepers' presence and shrugged slightly, quite clearly she had no idea what her Ladyship was so upset about either. Resigning herself to her fate, Elsie asked

'What _is_ the matter, Lady Mary?' With great effort she managed to keep the exasperation out of her voice, for God's sake, there was a banquet being thrown in her honour, what on earth could be so wrong.

'You….you…. wouldn't understand…' came the reply from between sobs. Fighting even harder with her inner dragon, for goodness sake, did she look like she had time to deal with adolescent self-pitying, Elsie said

'Try me.'

Looking surprised, presumably at the amount of attention the housekeeper, who normally avoided her at all costs, was paying her, said

'Well, Mama is throwing this big party downstairs, but it's going to be full of people I don't know, who I'm going to have to make polite conversation with all night. The only people my age there are Sibyl, Edith and Patrick, and I don't want to talk to HIM'.

This Elsie could understand a little more. It brought her back to conversations of her mother, whose favourite saying whenever a young Elsie had been embarrassed by their lack of money had been

'Better poor and in good comp'ny than rich in a room full o' snakes'

Almost feeling sorry for the girl, and disgusted for herself for that at the same time, she said

'Do you not have any friends of your own age you could invite? I'm sure Lady Grantham would allow it.'

'Not any of the right class.'

And then Elsie understood. Why Anna had been the one who had found Lady Mary. Why the usually proud-to-the-point-of-arrogant Lady had not only allowed her to see her entirely broken but had even allowed her to comfort her. Why Lady Grantham would never have understood how to find her, because she was asking the wrong people.

And she also knew what to do

'Well milady, class is easy to fake' she said, smiling at Anna, who audibly gulped

Xxxxxxxxx

Mr Carson rapped on Mrs Hughes' door and entered almost simultaneously. Without allowing her to voice her indignant view on this new method of inviting yourself in to a room, he began, voice shaking with rage

'Might I ask why our young housemaid is playing dress up at Lady Mary's birthday party? In one of her dresses, no less?' Judging by his tone, Elsie could tell he knew it was on her orders. With a steely look she asked

'Did you ask Lady Mary?' Hesitantly, he replied

'No I….did not, why?'

'If you did, you would know that your darling little Lady was so desperately upset at the thought of going to that carnival that even after I persuaded Lady Grantham to allow Anna to accompany her under the guise of a young Lady of a house in Scotland I still had to lace up her corset myself and do her hair because she was refusing to go? Do you think I enjoyed playing Nanny, psychiatrist and personal stylist?' Although she had to admit, finding a dress for Anna to wear had been most entertaining. Thank heavens that Lady Mary and Anna were tall and short for their age respectively.

Mr Carson had the good grace to look ashamed. Staring at the floor and shuffling his feet slightly, he said

'I apologise Mrs Hughes. Is there anything I can do to make up for my appalling behaviour?'

At his little-boy demeanour her heart melted, and, lowering her eyes slightly she asked

'How does she look?'

Charles looked at her with a knowing twinkle in his eye

'Assuming you mean Lady Mary, I would say she looked most regal. Beautiful too, she has grown up so fast' Following the look she gave him, he added with a chuckle

'She looked like an angel. You should be proud.' With that, he left, leaving Elsie beaming at the thought of her young 'angel', outshining all the aristocracy, no doubt. Not to mention the fact that she could now rest in peace that when she died at least she could no longer be levied at the pearly gates with the charge of attempting to ruin Lady Mary's life. Just as she turned back to her ledger, she heard a rap at the door.

Turning, she saw Anna holding aloft another fine dress, this one that looked like an old one of Lady Grantham's, with a slightly sheepish look on her face..

'Lady Grantham may have accidentally said that my Scottish mother was also staying at the house….'

Groaning, Elsie buried her face in her hands. The things she did for this family.


	6. Chapter 6

**As requested, this follows on from Chapter 5!**

Elsie stared at the man in front of her, attempting to appear interested as he droned on about his latest hunt. Dear god, did he honestly think this was a good conversation topic? Did he do anything other than hunt? However, she kept smiling, nodding, gasping in dramatic moments and generally smoothing his ego, while mentally running through the events that had led to her impersonating a Scottish aristocrat.

'_Could we not simply say that your mother is in ill health? She has the flu? Or consumption? She's in LABOUR?!'_

_Anna giggled and replied_

'_I doubt that any of that would work, Mrs Hughes. Besides, it's not that bad really,'_

_The older woman scoffed at that but made no comment. It was all right for Anna, she was only there to entertain Lady Mary, so she didn't have to interact with anyone else. Meanwhile, she would have to engage in conversation with people whose world she only ever got to see from beneath the glass floor, and manage to act as if she lived and breathed in that world. She was a farm girl for Christ's sake! _

'_There, all done' said Anna, bringing Elsie back into the present. Well, she had to admit she didn't look that bad, although she dreaded having to stand next to all those high maintenance aristocratic women who did nothing but powder their noses all day: she had a feeling that the comparison would not be in her favour. Still, nothing for it now, she would have to do her best._

Elsie suddenly realised that her companion had stopped talking and was looking at her expectantly, a smirk playing across his face. What had he just said? Oh God, what should she say?! Was he making a joke? Would it be a good idea to laugh? That seemed the logical solution and so she did, and was relieved to hear him joining in. Focus, Elsie! He might start telling you about his dead mother, and the last thing you want to do is laugh then.

Watching from the sidelines, Charles was struggling to keep a straight face. He knew Elsie too well to believe that she had been paying attention to that conversation, and he could tell from the brief look of panic on her face that she had no idea what she was laughing at. Luckily, to the rest of the people in the room, she seemed the perfect example of Scottish nobility. She certainly looked the part, he mused, although in his opinion she looked far more beautiful than any of the other 'ladies' did in her work clothes, so now she was just simply radiant. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as he served people and chuckled at their appalling sense of humour, unable to take his eyes of her.

'Lady Macdougal!' At first Elsie did not react, until, seeing her companion turn his head, she realised that that was addressed to her. She turned to see a fair haired woman in some skin-coloured, tight, feathered monstrosity tottering towards her, with a worried looking Anna in tow.

'Lady Macdougal!' Honestly, couldn't Lady Mary have come up with something less stereotypical than 'Macdougal? 'I was just asking your young Anna about life in the Highlands. She tells me that the men wear kilts all year round? So charming!'

Elsie snuck a look at Anna to see her hiding a smirk behind her gloved hand. Anna had quite clearly spotted this woman's gullibility and decided to have some fun. After a quick mental argument, Elsie decided to join in.

'Oh aye, that they do, that they do. Terribly draughty in the winter, it is.' This prompted some sage nodding from both this new lady and Lord Hunts-a-lot, God knows what his actual name was, whilst Anna was now stifling giggles. It was nice to see at least some people had some intelligence at this gathering. The blonde lady now asked her

'So, young Anna here is getting towards the age of coming out, is she not? Fifteen, didn't you say dear?' This gained a nod from Anna. 'Looking at the available bachelors-to-be perhaps?'

'Oh I don't know Lady…' began Elsie, shooting a panicked look at Anna who mouthed 'Napier' to her 'Napier, it isn't really my place to say. In Scottish families you see' she continued, deciding to inject some good old fashioned common sense into these people 'women get married when they find a man they fall in love with, rather than one's their parents picked out for them at a ball. Although he will have to pass approval, of course' she added, sneaking a glance at young Anna, 'he has to be good enough for my daughter before I let her go'.

Lady Napier looked rather affronted by this idea of marrying for love. 'But how do you find a suitable gentleman if you do not have a Coming Out ball?'

Smiling, Elsie began to speak, counting attributes off on her fingers as she did so, 'well he would have to be kind and gentle, so I know my girl will be treated like a princess as she deserves. He would also have to be an intelligent man, to be able to stimulate her with witty conversation and he would have to be respectful of her opinions and rights as a woman'. As she said that she glanced at her dinner companion, thinking how horrible it would be to be his wife. 'Oh, and he would have to be handsome. My husband and I didn't produce such a beautiful daughter to end up with ugly grandchildren.'

Lady Napier gasped at such frank language, whilst Anna looked at her with glistening eyes. Elsie winked at her in response. From his place at the side of the room Charles chuckled, having been close enough to hear the response, knowing, in a way that Anna did not fully realise, that Elsie meant every word of her speech and that she would personally show any suitors of 'her' girl who did not meet the required standards the door. He would not want to be in their shoes, that was for sure. He walked off to meet the Dowager Countess, who was waving him over, presumably bored of the young man attempting to converse with her.

Meanwhile, Elsie had waved off Lady Napier and Anna, who had both walked away, Lady Napier rather disgruntled and Anna following her dutifully with a little un-ladylike spring in her step. This left Elsie with the lovely Lord, who now fixed her with a devilish glint in his eye.

'Lady Macdougal, where exactly is your husband?'

Panicking about creating another alibi, she spluttered 'My husband died a few years ago.'

This, unfortunately, appeared to put other ideas in his head.

'Oh I'm so sorry', he said, not seeming sorry at all. 'But three years really is too long for a woman such as yourself to remain unmarried' He began to lean uncomfortably close to her, sliding his arm around her waist. It was then that Elsie belatedly remembered his name: Lord Derwood. She also remembered his advances at another party, when she had been plain Elsie Hughes, and to him a mere maid. Luckily for her the Dowager Countess or Lady Grantham as she was then, had turned the corner and rescued her. These days, she didn't need rescuing.

'I rather prefer it actually' she said, stepping backwards promptly. This seemed to throw Lord Derwood, who evidently had more respect for Ladies than he did maids. However, he closed the gap between them again, speaking in a less friendly manner than before.

'You don't seem to understand me, Lady Macdougal. I am not a man who is easily refused.'

'I understand you perfectly well', snarled Elsie, sounding a lot braver than she felt. She was hoping that he would be too afraid of a scene to cause any real problems.

'As do I' came a familiar booming voice from behind. Turning, relieved, Elsie saw Mr Carson standing behind her with a look of abject hatred on his face for the man. 'I think that it is time for you to leave, sir.'

Lord Derwood looked like he was about to refuse, but seeing the fact that many people were now looking at him with disgust, attracted to the scene by Carson's voice, he unceremoniously stalked off out the door, followed by an angry looking Lord Grantham.

Lady Napier came rushing over to them.

'Oh you poor dear, are you all right? Do you want to lay down somewhere and recover?'

Elsie was about to snap at her that she was not some weak and fragile aristocrat who could not cope with the odd pervert in a penguin suit, but then seeing that this could be her way out, feigned agreement and left the room, heading down to her sitting room to change out of her ghastly outfit feeling extremely relieved.

Xxxxxxx

Bent over her ledgers hours later, she heard a mildly timid knock at the door. Opening it, she saw Anna, who accepted her invitation in. Before the young girl opened her mouth she informed her that she was in fact perfectly all right, belatedly realising that she may have worried the girl. When Anna still seemed a little unconvinced, she regaled her with tales of young Scottish lads who had ended up upside down with a black eye after getting a little too close to her, which seemed to soothe the young woman's nerves. As she was getting up to leave, Elsie stopped her briefly and said

'I meant what I said you know. Any young men of yours will find themselves being used as a pin cushion if they are not good enough for you.'

Anna laughed quietly and replied

'Thanks _Mama', _feigning an accent not unlike Lady Mary's.

Elsie laughed and, between chuckles, pointed out 'we are Scottish Nobles my girl. It'd be _Maw_'.

Giggling, Anna nodded, and left.

About half an hour later another knock came, this one much stronger. Knowing Charles' knock better than anyone, she called to him to come in. He ducked through the door with a look of concern, to which she quickly said

'Oh stop it, will you? I already told Anna that I am perfectly fine, I left because I was fed up of talking to those arrogant idiots, not because I was feeling delicate!'

He chuckled and said

'I know that really, but I was just checking up on you. I would hate for you to be upset, you have every right to be.'

She smiled, her anger leaving her swiftly.

'Thank you then.'

'You're most welcome' he replied, and then, looking slightly embarrassed, added 'You looked beautiful today.'

Elsie blushed in a most uncharacteristic way, but he silenced her humble protestations with 'you cannot tell me what I find beautiful, Mrs Hughes. It is my right to decide for myself.'

She laughed at that, adding 'just so you know, if that room hadn't been packed with aristocrats, I'd have slung a right hook at him and he'd have been out cold. I was merely restraining myself for the sake of decorum'.

This was met with a hearty chuckle from Mr Carson, who replied 'I do not doubt it! Why do you think I came over when I did? The last thing you needed was to be dismissed for attacking half of England's nobility.'

They both fell about laughing at the thought, with Elsie eventually adding 'I don't think I am cut out to be a Lady'.

'Perhaps not' said Charles, more calmly. 'But', he added, smiling at her 'I wouldn't change you into one. Bonny Scottish lassies are much better company'. And with that, he produced a bottle of whisky from behind his back, and two glasses. Together, they drank, celebrating the joys of being ordinary complete with much laughter and good natured arguing, as ever, about Mrs Patmore and that bloody key.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry, this is very, very late!**

Sixteen. Elsie could not quite believe it. Anna was 16 now. Watching her eating her breakfast with a small smile on her face, Elsie's mind went racing back to when she had first arrived, nearly four years ago now. Then she was just older than a child, but now, now she was practically an adult. She could get married if her father agreed, for heavens sake! Although Elsie had yet to see any suitors, possibly due to the fact that no young man would be stupid enough to openly court Anna Smith under her watchful eyes, she thought, chuckling to herself. Charles raised his eyebrows at her, and she shook her head, still chuckling. She would tell him later, although it was most certainly obvious to him that it was Anna she was thinking about by the twinkle in his eye. He would tease her mercilessly about that.

Elsie's thoughts returned to the very real dilemma of what to give Anna. After the girl's wonderful belated Mothering Sunday gift she a few years ago she wanted it to be special.

A book perhaps? She knew that Anna like to read, and classics from the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen and even foreign novelists like Victor Hugo had over the years been seen at her side in the Servant's Hall. But then again, Elsie hated choosing other people's books, reading was a very personal matter, she hated to impose her own preferences on others.

Jewellery? She once again chuckled to herself, come off it Elsie, anything nice enough to give Anna would be way out of her price range!

Clothes? Cooking Equipment? Or perhaps something, she shuddered, _religious_. No, she thought, she wasn't the girl's maiden aunt; it had to be personal, practical perhaps.

Realising that she was not getting anywhere, she resolved to travel into Ripon, for errands of course, and see what sprung out at her. Even if she had to endure Charles' smug looks when she informed him of where she was going to be.

Xxxxxxx

As it happened, she had to endure them for a great deal longer, as he offered to accompany her. This was an offer that secretly warmed her heart. Even if he did keep referring to her as 'Mother Smith', and kept sending her little glances. Although whether he glanced at her in amusement or not she was unable to work out.

Walking through Ripon, they fulfilled her 'errands', picking up groceries for Mrs Patmore and material for O'Brien and, unfortunately, Lucy to work with. Elsie almost felt sorry for Lady Mary at the thought of the girl's backstitch. However, Elsie was struggling to find anything that she felt was worthy of her not-so-little housemaid. It was then they passed a beautiful shop, with a multitude of items in the window, which was surprisingly dust free considering the cluttered nature of it. And Elsie saw what she wanted.

Xxxxxxxx

The day had not gone particularly well after they returned: Lady Mary and Lady Edith had held the fight to end all fights, leading to one being patched up for a black eye and the other having her knotted hair painstakingly untangled. Meanwhile poor Anna was consoling a weeping and traumatised Lady Sibyl, who was present throughout the entire ordeal and had even earned herself a scratch from when Lady Edith had over judged her swing. If these were the Ladies, thought Elsie, she would hate to see what her maids would have gotten up to in their youth.

But the adults were no better: Her Ladyship was insisting upon the complete cleaning of the virtually unused ballroom, down to polishing every candlestick till it gleamed and wiping white gloves along every surface. Elsie suspected this was more to do with her annoyance at the fact that his Lordship had gone out for a ride despite promising to go for a walk with her. The servants meanwhile, in their tired and overworked states, were snapping at each other constantly, and Thomas had already caused three maids and two hall boys to burst into tears with choice remarks.

All in all, not a good day for her lovely, peaceful Anna to have her 16th birthday on. However, she knew that Mrs Patmore was preparing a special treat for the girl, who also held a spot in her heart: strawberry trifle. That was sure to brighten everyone's day.

Xxxxxx

In the end, dinner saved the day. The trifle went down a treat and young William, the new third footman, entertained them all by playing music hall favourites on the piano in the servant's hall. Charles surprised the staff, those who did not know of his past, by singing with a marvellous baritone voice. She suspected that Mrs Patmore may have spiked the trifle. It would certainly explain why O'Brien had actually wished Anna a happy birthday. The look of shock on Anna's face had been hilarious, as was the stuttered thanks that followed.

However, Elsie still hadn't had the chance to give Anna her present. So she collared the young woman, metaphorically anyway, when the others were going to bed, and the girl followed her to her sitting room.

It was a mark of both her growing age and her growing comfort with the older woman that she did not look nervous as she sat down in the spare chair. As they talked of small things, how her birthday had been, the scrap upstairs, the scraps downstairs, it dawned on Elsie that this was what having a daughter was like. Before she burst into tears, she decided to give her the present. Instructing the girl to shut her eyes, she placed the gift in her eyes, and allowed her to open them.

In her hands lay the most beautiful, leather bound diary either woman had ever received, and a wonderful ink pen to go with it. Anna stared at her in speechless gratitude, she wasn't aware that her ability to write well was known to the staff, until she remembered that Mrs Hughes had been the one to hire her. She stuttered out thanks for the second time that evening. Anna then added

'I'm so glad you called me in here!' with a laugh. Elsie smiled fondly, asking

'You didn't think I would forget, did you?'

Anna blushed, before replying

'No, but I didn't expect a gift, and certainly not one as lovely as this. And…' she began, trailing off in embarrassment, before continuing, at Elsie's questioning look 'I was worried that I wasn't going to get to spend time with you, what with everything being so busy.'

Elsie felt her eyes welling up. Now feeling embarrassed herself, she instinctively pulled the girl into a hug, saying

'Oh my dear girl. How could I let you turn 16 without spending time with you'?

The two women stayed like this for a while, and then continued chatting for many hours. Charles Carson meanwhile, having glanced through the door to see Elsie Hughes hugging his young housemaid, had decided, for once, to go to bed without tea, not wishing to intrude upon the little family. Depite this, he found himself smiling. It was good to see them both so happy.


	8. Chapter 8

**This one is very, very late, sorry!**

'I don't know about this, Mrs Hughes' said Mr Carson, clearly dragging his feet on the matter.

'Well, who else then?' she asked impatiently. 'The arsonist?'

Mr Carson frowned and replied 'she was not an arsonist, she happened to cause a fire due to an accident with a pie. It could happen to anybody...' he began, but the younger woman cut across him in frustration

'Oh nonsense! If one of our girls had caused a house fire, with a pie of all things, they'd have been out on their ear and you would have been the first to suggest it! You just don't want to give Anna the job!'

'Because, of course, your reasons for suggesting young Anna for the position of Head Housemaid are entirely due to her abilities and nothing to do with your own personal feelings for her!'

Elsie opened her mouth angrily to speak, but slowly closed it again with a wry smile when she conceded that he may have a point.

When Lucy had informed them that she was leaving to marry the young baker's son, Elsie couldn't say she was surprised. She had been following him around like a lost puppy for months and he seemed just as smitten. Frankly, professionally it was no great loss, the girl was hopeless, although she would miss her scatty smiles and enthusiasm.

Of course, a replacement was needed, and many had applied. All hopeless. Aside from the so-called accidental arsonist, there had been a woman unable to sew at all, one too old to climb the stairs at anything faster than a snail's pace, one who could barely speak through nerves, and one young woman who was simply rude. As each day went by, Elsie became more and more disillusioned with life and sat down every evening to talk over tea with Mrs Carson with more and more fatigue evident under her eyes.

It also became clearer to her that they had the perfect candidate already in the house. Anna was hardworking, efficient, obedient but also able to give instructions easily, well mannered, and, as Elsie thought most important, she had yet to start any fires or, she thought shuddering, turn up to work drunk.

Still, she knew that Charles had a point. Anna was the closest thing she had to a daughter and she knew part of the reason why she wanted to promote her was to help her send more money back home to her family, She knew that her father was ailing, and though the not-so maiden aunt was still going to look after the children should the worst happen, Anna needed to give them as much funds as possible. She knew that a few weeks ago the fourth child, the second youngest girl, had died of a fever during the night, and Anna had been distraught, but unable even to ask for the time off to go to the funeral, money being tight. She had persuaded her to go anyway, and had simply done her job as well for the day. She hadn't mentioned it to Charles yet, and didn't plan to, as it wouldn't do much for either of their reputations.

She knew what Mr Carson's main objection was already, as he had pointed out to her, 16 was very young for such a position. But she couldn't help but think that Anna was very young for the position as main breadwinner of her family, yet she was managing perfectly well. Indeed, she excelled at it.

Charles cleared his throat, drawing her back into the present.

'Perhaps I can speak to his Lordship and see what he says. You are right, she is after all the most qualified for the job. Not to mention it will save us having to go through references. Although we would have to find another housemaid to fill in Anna's role…' He trailed off, but Elsie smiled, knowing that by overthinking the matter and attempting to work out the logistics Charles had accepted her idea and been won over.

She smiled, quietly leaving him to it in her sitting room.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Anna's face was a picture. An absolute picture of joy and confusion, pride and fear, disbelief and excitement. Elsie burst out laughing. Charles had wondered why she was so desperate to be the one who informed her of her promotion, this was the only reason why.

Well, not the only reason, she thought, as the girl threw her arms around her in excitement.

'Are you sure Mrs Hughes?' Anna asked grinning 'I'm not too young?'

'Not at all, that would never be an issue' replied Elsie, briefly thinking of the conversation she's had with Lady Grantham about how Anna really was capable, despite her youth, and that her Ladyship's reservations were, with all due respect, completely unfounded. She thought back to the way Charles had stood there smirking at her as she defended the young woman's capabilities until they were convinced.

She could see him smirking at her again as Anna rushed off in excitement, saying how she had to write to her family to tell them the good news.

After a few seconds of silence she asked him, with as much dignity as she could manage

'What exactly is so entertaining Mr Carson?'

He laughed then, and replied

'Absolutely nothing Mrs Hughes. Are your maternal instincts satisfied now?'

She mock glared at him and said, firmly but with a smile

'Yes, Mr Carson, they are.'

'Good'. As he turned to leave her sitting room, he paused and added, with yet another smirk,

'You don't by any chance happen to have any opinions on who I appoint as the new housemaid do you?' She glared at him again as he continued 'Any nieces? Family friends?'

She laughed and said 'Out of my sitting room, you aggravating man!'

'Just a question, Mrs Hughes. Any relatives who you might prefer to appoint?'

'OUT!'

He laughed and left her with an exasperated smile on her face, as she pretended to throw her ledger at him. It was good to see a job well done.


End file.
